McDonagh trade

[usekakkorightquinn]

This is why you have to wait years to evaluate deals. In that deal we received Howden and Hajek. Ending up using the first rounder on Lundkvist. The second rounder on Henriksson. Miller was basically traded away for nothing by Tampa to the Canucks and now they look ridiculous for it because Miller broke out finally. I think Howden is about ready to take a step up in his game. I still believe Hajek is going to be a solid NHL defenseman but I would not be surprised if he's used in a deal to make our team stronger. Lundkvist has a chance to be a star. I liked McDonagh a lot but I felt he started looking like one of those players that was getting old, fast. Miller just wasn't a NY guy. It seems Miller needed to go to a place without distractions where they care about hockey more than anything else.

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[eco's bones]

This is why you have to wait years to evaluate deals. In that deal we received Howden and Hajek. Ending up using the first rounder on Lundkvist. The second rounder on Henriksson. Miller was basically traded away for nothing by Tampa to the Canucks and now they look ridiculous for it because Miller broke out finally. I think Howden is about ready to take a step up in his game. I still believe Hajek is going to be a solid NHL defenseman but I would not be surprised if he's used in a deal to make our team stronger. Lundkvist has a chance to be a star. I liked McDonagh a lot but I felt he started looking like one of those players that was getting old, fast. Miller just wasn't a NY guy. It seems Miller needed to go to a place without distractions where they care about hockey more than anything else.

I would think Vancouver would have its fair share of distractions. Just saying. It's a major metropolitan city with a huge variety of outdoor activities in one of the most beautiful settings in North America. If I were to choose a place in Canada to play it would be there. I never liked the Miller for Namestnikov throw in side of that deal. Miller always had more upside than Vlad. Speaking of whom to finish out the above we have a 4th rounder in the upcoming draft from Ottawa. Changes of scenery can be funny--sometime the new guys really takes off, sometimes it's more what you expect and sometimes it doesn't work out at all. Tampa got more of the same Miller--Vancouver put him with Pettersson and now he looks like a whole different player---is it maturity happening too? It could be. It could be the welcome wagon--it could be he's embraced his new city or the new city has embraced him or a combination of things.

Howden's bottom 6 material. Teams need good bottom 6 players though and he has the chance to be a good one IMO. Making the jump to the NHL straight out of junior is not an easy thing to do and it comes with growing pains. Eventually he'll get stronger, smarter and better or at least he should. We should hopefully be seeing a better (maybe much better) player in the next season or two. Sooner or later though I think he moves on to another team.

I expected more out of Hajek. He was a very very good two way defensemen in the WHL and WJC tournaments. That two way game so far has not followed him into the pros. It's somewhat mystifying to me. He has size and is a very good skater with very good puck moving skills. It's not registered really at all. Very offense to his game at either the AHL or NHL level and he seemed shy physically when he was up with the Rangers this year. He should become a very good NHL defenseman for 10-12 years but so far he's not shown it and I'm kind of thinking if things don't turn around for him fast we're going to move on from him before his ELC is up.

Nils Lundkvist busted out in the SHL this year as a 19 year old. I think he's going to be an absolute stud. He's smaller but the foundation of his game is he's always been good defensively. To put up the points he did in a league as good as the SHL as a teenager is very, very impressive. I think he's in Adam Fox territory anyway. At the end of the year he was popping in a goal every night from the top of the circle like he was Alex Ovechkin. The other team knew it was coming but it was going in the net anyway. His shot has really improved in the last couple years.

Henriksson is intriguing. I believe he'll be in the SHL full on this coming year. This is a big chance for him to show what he can do.

 

[ETTER DE]

I dont think anyone in their right mind could argue that this was a good trade. It was terrible. But because so many here on the forum was so eager to get rid of all the old players and rebuild, they acted like the trade was OK. McDonagh was Rangers best trade chip. He was the best bet to bring something valuable back. Late first and seconds and decent prospects is not a good return. Not one major peace came back. And the worst part is that there was no hurry to trade him. He had a year left on his contract. Gorton could have waited and tried to maximize the return. There would not have been much to lose with being patient.

 

[Vitto79]

Miller got flipped for another 1st.

Check back in a few more years . Lundqvist is the key ... maybe Hendrickson makes it. Howdev and Hajek look like bubble guts to days although still young

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Not sure how anyone can look at this one and say it’s worked out thus far haha

Howden stinks, Hajek stinks

Lundkvist and Henriksson are unknowns still.

And they dumped Namestnikov for cap space

If Lundkvist is any good this trade goes from bad to just okay

 

[Black Aces]

I dont think anyone in their right mind could argue that this was a good trade. It was terrible. But because so many here on the forum was so eager to get rid of all the old players and rebuild, they acted like the trade was OK. McDonagh was Rangers best trade chip. He was the best bet to bring something valuable back. Late first and seconds and decent prospects is not a good return. Not one major peace came back. And the worst part is that there was no hurry to trade him. He had a year left on his contract. Gorton could have waited and tried to maximize the return. There would not have been much to lose with being patient.

Waiting until he was a soon to be UFA would not have maximized his return. It would have done the opposite.

 

[Machinehead]

Nah, it's still bad

 

[eco's bones]

Not sure how anyone can look at this one and say it’s worked out thus far haha

Howden stinks, Hajek stinks

Lundkvist and Henriksson are unknowns still.

And they dumped Namestnikov for cap space

If Lundkvist is any good this trade goes from bad to just okay

McDonagh still probably has a few years left but I wouldn't trade Lundkvist straight up for him. Lundkvist has his entire future ahead of him and one day in the next 2/3/4/5 years McDonagh will start his decline and on another day he'll retire. Right now the two most valuable assets in the deal are Miller and Lundkvist and in two or three years there's a very good chance it will be Lundkvist. This deal hasn't played out and McDonagh only really makes it worthwhile in the long run for Tampa if Tampa wins a Cup. But really the deal was it helped Tampa immediately and the Rangers somewhere down the road.

 

[WojtekWolski86]

Signing Staal and Girardi forced our hand. The writing was on the wall and you dont give long term deals to guys who eat pucks and get buried in their own end. Having that 10 mil back easily pays for McD next contract.

Part 2 of the situation was Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith. After that playoff run where they stepped up the team thought they had the "next Mcdonagh" and a solid top 4 dman. That didnt pan out either.

So that's 4 dman that got paid which forced us to trade our workhorse dman.

Could you imagine McDonagh with Fox or DeAngelo and then paired with Trouba for shutdown moments? Sigh.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Waiting until he was a soon to be UFA would not have maximized his return. It would have done the opposite.

if they waited, you know he would have been out with a injury right before the deadline. its the Rangers luck

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

if they waited, you know he would have been out with a injury right before the deadline. its the Rangers luck

He was injured already when they traded him. He had like a hernia I believe, the public didn't know about it until after the fact. That was the reason he wasn't playing right before the deadline

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

McDonagh still probably has a few years left but I wouldn't trade Lundkvist straight up for him. Lundkvist has his entire future ahead of him and one day in the next 2/3/4/5 years McDonagh will start his decline and on another day he'll retire. Right now the two most valuable assets in the deal are Miller and Lundkvist and in two or three years there's a very good chance it will be Lundkvist. This deal hasn't played out and McDonagh only really makes it worthwhile in the long run for Tampa if Tampa wins a Cup. But really the deal was it helped Tampa immediately and the Rangers somewhere down the road.

Yeah I agree.

I also do get a slight kick out of the fact that the two players the Rangers hand picked from Tampa's farm, Howden and Hajek, were two of the worst players in the league this year.

Like obviously they are young so it's not the end of the world, but that's just the Rangers luck

 

[NYSPORTS]

When you trade your Captain whose age is South of 30 years and a former #1 pick who is about to enter his prime you should get back more than question marks.

Years later we’re hoping Lundkvist is the one who contributes heavily as the rest struggle to offer much of anything.

so far, it’s a horrible trade IMO.

 

[FIRE DRURY]

When you trade your Captain whose age is South of 30 years and a former #1 pick who is about to enter his prime you should get back more than question marks.

Years later we’re hoping Lundkvist is the one who contributes heavily as the rest struggle to offer much of anything.

so far, it’s a horrible trade IMO.

There’s a great amount of risk when you’re trading for futures. Hajek and Howden are both a couple of 22 year olds who are still very raw.

McDonagh had a modified NTC when Gorton moved him, so that limited his trade partners.

GM’s aren’t going to win every trade, especially an aggressive one like Gorton who’s made multiple moves when he kickstarted our rebuild. And it’ll take years to properly evaluate the trade itself since it had so many moving parts.

I’m just glad we avoided this potential disaster...

 

[NYSPORTS]

There’s a great amount of risk when you’re trading for futures. Hajek and Howden are both a couple of 22 year olds who are still very raw.

McDonagh had a modified NTC when Gorton moved him, so that limited his trade partners.

GM’s aren’t going to win every trade, especially an aggressive one like Gorton who’s made multiple moves when he kickstarted our rebuild. And it’ll take years to properly evaluate the trade itself since it had so many moving parts.

I’m just glad we avoided this potential disaster...
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i was fine with moving McDonagh. Move him and you take your chances. I wasn’t fine with both Miller and McDonagh without the return of even their top prospect. Were the choices so limited league wide? I find that hard to believe.

 

[Irishguy42]

 

[FIRE DRURY]

i was fine with moving McDonagh. Move him and you take your chances. I wasn’t fine with both Miller and McDonagh without the return of even their top prospect. Were the choices so limited league wide? I find that hard to believe.

I’ve said it before - wasn’t a fan of moving Miller. Management obviously felt differently, especially after the onion ring fiasco.

 

[haveandare]

It’s not as fun a conversation to have but the fact is it’s still too early to know what to make of this. Howden and Hajek don’t look good but they’re not nearly in the territory where you can expect them not to improve anymore. Lundkvist looks like the biggest piece potentially and hes totally unknown at this level.

One thing I’m sure of already is that I’m glad we don’t have that McD contract.

 

[Crease]

They traded McDonagh and Miller for three replacement-level players (Namestnikov, Howden, and Hajek) and two picks (Lundkvist and Henriksson). McDonagh got Norris votes last year and Miller is a point-per-game guy this year. I mean . . .

Let's hope Lundqvist and Henriksson become good NHLers.

 

[FIRE DRURY]

It’s not as fun a conversation to have but the fact is it’s still too early to know what to make of this. Howden and Hajek don’t look good but they’re not nearly in the territory where you can expect them not to improve anymore. Lundkvist looks like the biggest piece potentially and hes totally unknown at this level.

One thing I’m sure of already is that I’m glad we don’t have that McD contract.

That McD contract is going to cost TB very soon.

 

[Leonardo87]

Trade was bad, but re-signing him to like what Tampa did would be even worse. That contract will be miles worse than the Callahan one, and that one was really not so terrible as some people claim since they got out of it with little cost when he couldn't play anymore. Won't be easy to get out of the McDonagh contract for them. We dodged a bullet. Now have guys like Fox, Trouba, and DeAngelo on D.

 

[cwede]

I don't judge or project kids, especially well-regarded ones, too quickly, not until after their ELC, or even during/after their 2d contract.
While it may be more common now, that SOME 19, 20, 21 years olds establish their pro bonafides early, not all do.
So I am slower to project the ceilings for Howden and Hajek.

I loved McD, but IMHO his development as NHL ~top 10 D was undermined by giving him the C immediately after his first dominant season. That's one reason I will hope they don't give Zib the C.

To me this trade is not proven terrible yet, more time is needed to see how the kids develop .... or what assets they turn into.
Regardless, our vet heavy team of that time was becoming hamstrung by Cap considerations, something had to give...

 

[NYRKing]

We lost this one imo. Thankfully Lundqvist has massive potential but to not get a more nhl ready prospect was surprising then and surprising now. Howden and Hajek need to show something....

 

[Anthony5967]

Whether you want to say they didn't get the proper return, fine, but would you guys have committed the $ and term McDonagh got from TB? Figure he would've gotten more in NY, too, because of the tax. $7.5M for over seven years with an NTC and stuff? Forget it. The Howden and Hajek hate are absurd. Making the jump from junior to the pro game isn't easy by any means, and Howden is 22 years old! All year on this thread, "Howden stinks." I mean can we wait till the guy has played like four years in the league first? Hajek is a guy I thought they rushed here. Junior d-men take a little longer to develop. Yea, he had all the tools to succeed right away, but it doesn't always work like that. Again, another player who is like 22. Tampa made that trade to win now and still haven't done a thing. They even sent Miller packing, the great Stevie Y didn't see 80 point potential coming? He must've preferred Yanni Gourde and Alex Killorn. The fact of the matter is, nobody has a crystal ball. Howden is probably a fourth line C in this league going forward, but if he's a solid one, great.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Yeah I agree.

I also do get a slight kick out of the fact that the two players the Rangers hand picked from Tampa's farm, Howden and Hajek, were two of the worst players in the league this year.

Like obviously they are young so it's not the end of the world, but that's just the Rangers luck

Or is it poor scouting?

This is a group that coveted Emerson Etem. A 10 year old could watch him play and realize his skills wouldn’t translate to the show.

They’ve of course nailed it a few times. Mika comes to mind. Plenty of brutal misses as well though.